The Bruised Reed (For Teens)

An English preacher, born in 1577 in Suffolk, the son of a wheelwright. He studied at Cambridge, was converted around 1603, and became a famous preacher in Cambridge and to the lawyers of Gray’s Inn in London. He was known for his gentleness with doubting and discouraged people, and was nicknamed “the sweet dropper” and “the Heavenly Doctor”. He died in 1635.

Two pictures from Isaiah 42:3, quoted about Jesus in Matthew 12:20. A reed is a thin, weak plant, and a bruised one is nearly snapped. Smoking flax is a lamp wick that has almost gone out, giving more smoke than light. Both stand for weak, struggling believers, and the promise is that Jesus will not break or snuff them out but will care for them until they are strong.

Sibbes believed God uses hard times to bring us to our senses and draw us to Christ. But God is never the author of abuse, and nobody who hurts you is doing God’s work. If someone is harming you, tell a trusted adult. Sibbes’s whole point is that Jesus is gentle with the hurting.

Sibbes says no. Unwanted thoughts that horrify you are not the same as choosing them, and he tells such people to bring them to Christ rather than hide in shame. If those thoughts are constant, frightening or make you do things over and over to feel safe, please tell a trusted adult or a doctor. That kind of struggle is common and help is available.

Mostly, yes, but that is nearly everyone at some point. It is also for anyone who wants to know what Jesus is really like, and for those who want to learn to be gentle with others who are struggling.

No. Sibbes is clear that Jesus is both gentle and King. He cares for weak faith so that it will grow into victory over sin, not so that we can stay comfortable in it. Mercy is meant to draw us closer to him.

No. It is a retelling for teenagers in plain modern words, drawn from across Sibbes’s book and keeping his own sentences where they say it best. The full Bruised Reed is also available.